I am using humidifiers made for cigars to keep the pumidor going. I tried the beads and I noticed a bit of "off" flavor and ditched the beads for the humidity control. I think the humidifiers using only distilled water will alleviate this issue. I am hesitant to go back to the beads with the prices we are having to pay for young sheng. I want the tea to age well just not with the areas of concern I had before.

Traditional Hong Kong storage is a technique for aging puerh in an enclosed, controlled multiple levels environment for a long period of time, usually until it passes the first sick period. The temp/humidity are control to a certain level to create micro climates within the large sum of cakes. Only because of the volume so that it could archive this enclosed mature stages. The tea are closely monitored by a "Storage Master" and rotate or move to different levels.

These practice were refined from the 50's and on in Canton.

Again, my understanding of this process (I could very well be wrong) is that even though the tea is monitored closely and controlled in an "enclosed environment" (such as a warehouse or cave/basement), there is still at least some fluctuation due to the fact that these environments are not completely sealed off. The temps and Rh fluctuate each day/night cycle, as well as during seasonal changes. Am I wrong in thinking this?